Smell of Defeat
by TheWriteMonster
Summary: Ludo has been kicked around for the last time. When his recent attempt fails, he gives up on the blonde's powerful wand. Who will help him in his quest to be the most powerful ruler ever?
1. A Spark of Failure

It is a dark, cold night at the Stop & Slurp. A frosty October evening sets the stage for another battle. Ludo thought THIS time would be different. Just maybe...

Ludo is forced to the ground with another swift kick to his abdomen. He free falls while trying to catch his breath. His body soon smacks down on the hard pavement. He gasps trying to recover from the blow delivered to his body. The hit send his circle shaped head into a swirl. He feels as if he can't get up.

He lifts his head slowly to see _him_ _._ The boy wearing the dark red hoodie that he has seen many times. The boy that has been ruining his life for the past 2 months. He is standing over him, towering over his worn and torn body.

On the other side of the battlefield, he sees _her_ , _holding_ the wand that should be his. The blonde hair, blue eyed girl that has ruined his life also. He observes her blasting another one of his allies with an arsenal of bright, flashy lights. How he dreams of such power.

He looks around at the battlefield while still laying on the ground. Marco may be locked on him, but Star has no problem dispatching the others. One gets Narwhal blasted, one is thrown across the lot like a rag doll. It's clear to Ludo he can't win this battle.

He turns back to the boy. He has grown an angry look on his face. Ludo has seen this face before. He knows nothing good derives from his fiery brown eyes. Marco, as fast as he can, cocks back his right hand, aiming now for Ludo's head. It starts to shoot forward towards his warty face. Ludo, scared for his life, shoots up his hands in front of his body and shuts his eyes. As he braces for the impact, he realizes it never comes. He opens his jittery eyes to see Marco stopped the hit before ever reaching him.

Ludo, now deeply embarrassed, picks himself up off the ground. He scrambles away from Marco's arm reach. Ludo leaps onto a nearby trash can. He clear his throat ready to speak

"Retreat monsters, retreat!" he yells in his raspy voice. The command is soon followed by the moans and groans of his minions. They all soon picking themselves off the ground. Many have black eyes, blue bruises, and red faces. Ludo grabs his scissors out of his pocket. He viciously stabs the air and pulls down, revealing the rotten colored portal. The monsters all start walking through, too embarrassed to glance at their boss, who stares at them in disguise. After they are packed in, Ludo prepares to leave when he hears the voices of his adversaries.

"We did it!" He hears Star yell.

"Yep... Again, like always." Marco replies. They dont know Ludo is still there, literally shaking with rage. He goes to scream, but instead forces himself into the portal instead.

Thirty minutes later...

It's now 1 am at Ludo's residence. All monsters are asleep in their quarters. The monsters sleep and eat in a tiny room, lined with smelly bunk beds and a little table for eating.

Suddenly, a screech is heard from down the hall. Followed by another one, then another one, gradually growing in pitch and volume. It sounded as if in great pain. The voice finally awakens Buff Frog, who is on the top bunk above Man Arm. Buff Frog leans over the bunk and pokes him.

"Do you hear that?" He asks. He is answered by a loud snore. Its obvious no one else can hear them. Another one erupts from the hall. He climbs down the ladder off the bed to investigate. He goes down many halls covered in pictures, mostly of Ludo in different poses.

He reaches the end if the hall, and enters a big circled room. It's covered in a red carpet and wallpaper of Ludo's staff. Buff Frog goes up the flight of stairs to the second part of the room, where the noises seem to be originating from. He gets to the top to see Ludo, with his face smacked down on a wooden table.

"Ludo, Master, are you alright?" At the sound of his voice Ludo looks up, clearly caught off guard. He stood up straight to try to show no weakness.

"What are you doing up?"

"I heard strange noises and came to look, Master." Ludo tried to look surprised.

"Really?" He asked, in his most suspicious voice. "That is so weird! I haven't heard a thing. Must've been a dream." He tries to shoo him away. "Go back to bed now." Buff Frog didn't move a muscle, and kept his eyes locked on Ludo. After another five awkward seconds of just staring, Ludo could tell he wasnt taking the bluff. He turns around and violently slammed his face back on the table.

"I give up."

"What was that, Master?" he couldn't hear him since his voice was muffled by the table. He jerked his head towards Buff Frog, with an angry expression.

"I GIVE UP BUFF FROG!" He screams. "We can't possibly beat her! With that bratty little boy with her EVERYWHERE she goes, we're done! We lost, I surrender!" He inhales from his rant. Buff Frog was completely shocked. He wanted to help his master. He wanted the wand for Ludo as much as Ludo wanted it for himself. Buff Frog would die for him.

"I'm sure there is something we haven't done yet." He said trying to think.

"Good luck trying figure that out! I'm all out of options." A yawn escaped from Ludo's beak shaped mouth. He was clearly tired from screaming and ranting.

"I'm going to bed." He announces. He walks towards a black steel door. He opens it and steps in, leaving Buff Frog alone in the huge room. He starts making his way towards the barracks. He arrives, and climbs back on his bed

He lays down and tries to sleep, but he couldn't. Was master really giving up? He couldn't be too sure. His head starts to get light and his eyes soon get heavy. He soon fell asleep after scanning his brain for an answer.

"I'll have to think of it tomorrow." He thinks to himself

 **Hey guys! This is the first chapter of my first story! I hope you all enjoyed. More may be coming soon. Stay tuned.**


	2. A Monster's Morning

**I thought this chapter could be a fun insight on how the monsters act when they're not fighting and stuff like that. I know this story might not get the recognition I hope for it since It's mostly about the monsters. Hope y'all enjoy!**

A ring is soon heard from the sleeping quarters. A thick ray of sunlight peeks through the dark room. Soon all monsters are woken from the alarm. Groans could be heard throughout the room as they start sitting up.

One of the first ones up is Buff Frog, who soon is out of bed to start his day. He walks through a door in the room which leads to a bathroom. It's lined with stalls on one side, and sinks at the other, with most of them covered in stains and grime.

He walks over to the sink and pulls away the dirty mirror. He grabs his toothbrush and paste and starts brushing, when Man Arm arrives in the room.

"Hi Buff Frog." He greets him while waving his human hand.

"Hello, Man Arm." He says back. Man Arm walks to the sink beside his and grabs his toothbrush. He takes the toothpaste next to Buff Frog and and starts brushing.

"You sure got out of bed quick." Buff Frog usually is the last one out, and has to be woken up by Ludo himself, who usually has to shout at him to get him to wake up.

"I have a mission to do. I must go talk to Master."

"Sounds interesting." Man Arm says, slightly curious. "I'll catch you later." He says putting down his toothbrush. He walks out of the room, as it starts to get more crowded. Buff Frog finishes, and is soon out the room too.

He soon makes his way out the room to go see Master. He walks through the hall into the room he was just in last night. He goes up the stairs to the door that leads to Ludo's room. He presses a button which emits a buzzing sound. An angry voice soon comes through the speaker on top of the door.

"Who is this, what do you want!?" Ludo asks.

"It's me Master, Buff Frog."

"Come on in then." Buff Frog grabs the door and swings it opens. He soon starts climbing up the spiral steps to his room. He opens another black door at the top of the stairs to Ludo's room and steps in. It's a fairly huge room with a king sized bed facing the door. It has it's own bathroom and fridge, since Ludo doesn't eat with the other monsters. He sees Ludo sitting at his desk.

"Ludo, Master." He greets him.

"Why are you here?" Ludo asks while getting up from his desk.

"What do you have planned for today?" Ludo looked down and stared at the ground in defeat.

"I'm announcing that our campaign for the wand will end today. I will send everyone out of the castle for good." The sound of this news horrified Buff Frog. He LOVED working for Ludo. Seeing Ludo defeated made himself feel defeated too.

"Well... What if I thought of an idea?" He suggested. Ludo turned to him, with a hilarious expression on his face.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA." Ludo bursts to laughter. "You, thinking of an IDEA?" Ludo found his proposal quite funny. His laughing punctured a hole into Buff Frog's esteem. A frown soon grows on his face.

"Master... I know I'm not the smartest... But what if you give me a chance? Just one." Ludo soon breaks out of his laughing fit. The room got quiet as Ludo was thinking about an answer. He soon gave a sigh.

"You know what? Fine. You have one day to think of an idea." Buff Frog became elated. He nearly jumped in the air with excrement. He grabbed Ludo's right hand and started shaking it like crazy.

"You won't be disappointed Master, I promise!" He said while still shaking. Ludo jerked his hand away.

"I better not, now get out!" He ordered. Buff Frog obeyed and left the room. As going down the steps, all he could think about was impressing his master.

He is soon back into the room with his other friends. They all are sat around the table eating lunch. They were served Onion Soup, packed with "great" flavor and a pungent smell. All of them are in their own conversations. Buff Frog is situated between Man Arm and Spikeballs . Man Arm soon notices he has a frown on his face.

"What's wrong?" He asks. Buff Frog snapped out of his thought.

"Oh nothing, just thinking about... stuff." Man Arm soon began wondering what he could be hiding from him. They had been best friends since they both joined Ludo's Army together. Buff Frog was also the only one who didn't make fun of his human arm.

"I wonder what Ludo has in stored for us today." Bearicorn says. " I hope we can have a party!" Bearicorn is known as a party animal (pun intended) amongst the other minions.

"That's a pretty stupid idea..." a voice from across the table murmurs. The whole room gets dead silent. Bearicorn flares his nostrils in anger.

"WHO SAID THAT!?" He yells.

"I did." The voice says. All heads turn to the source of the sound, which came out of Man Arm's mouth.

"What did you say? Speak up a little louder!" Bearicorn shouts, antagonizing him.

"I said that's a stupid idea!" Man Arm says, almost in a shout. Bearicorn growls at him.

"Shut up, puny arm! You are the weakest one here!"

"Oh yeah!?"

"Yeah!"

"That's a lie!"

"Is it? Just admit it!"

"I bet..." Man Arm stammers.

"You bet what, huh, tough guy?

"I bet I could beat you in an arm wrestling match, WITH my puny arm!" An OOOOOOHHHHHHH soon comes from the mouths of all the other monsters.

"You don't want to do this." Buff Frog whispers into Man Arm's ear.

"Let's do this then!" Bearicorn announces. At the call, all the monsters clear out the way. They walk up to each other and sit down at the table, with angry looks on their faces. They look up their arms and squeeze each other's hands. Three-eyed potato baby grabs both their hands.

"Alright, I want a good, clean fight. You know the rules, no biting, hitting, sneezing, cussing, farting, poking, pinching, and absolutely no spitting. Ready, Set, Go!" He lets go of both their hands and the battle begins.

Both monsters are locked into a grudge match. Eyes locked in a furious stare, both seem like they won't back down. The other monsters are hooting, hollering, and betting on who they think will win.

After a full ten seconds of no budge, Man Arm's arm starts turning towards the table. He starts sweating badly (despite being a cold blooded alligator). A devilish grin grows on Bearicorn's mouth.

"Come on Man Arm, you can do this." Buff Frog says to himself. Then, as if Man Arm heard him, starts pushing harder, then harder, then harder. The crowd cheers as Man Arm regains lost ground. They are soon deadlocked at the middle of the table again.

But Man Arm keeps pushing. This is his moment. This is his chance to prove everyone wrong about him. This was HIS time. What seems to be a battle cry comes from Man Arm's mouth. He pushes harder once more.

Everyone starts noticing that Man Arm is winning! They all start shouting his name. Bearicorm cant hold himself anymore. Man Arm, with one last push, forces Bearicorn's paw to the table. He has won!

He is soon scooped out of his chair and lifted to the air by the other monsters, all chanting his name. Man Arm is smiling as wide as he physically can. Bearicorn, humiliated, has his face in his hands, too embarrassed to look at anyone. Buff Frog sees Man Arm, and gives him an "I knew you could do it" smile.

It is soon midnight, and the ruckus has calmed. Everyone is getting in their separate beds, going to sleep. Buff Frog is laying down, now thinking of an idea for Ludo tomorrow. What did Ludo say last night? What was the problem? He recalled Ludo's rant from last night.

"I GIVE UP BUFF FROG! We can't possibly beat her! With that bratty little boy with her EVERYWHERE she goes, we're done! We lost, I surrender!"

He thinks over the quote. He goes to deep thought, really concentrating.

Then, as if it was magic, the idea comes to him. How did he not thin of it before? He soon shuts his eyes and attempts to sleep, with a smile on his face. He couldn't wait to tell Master.


	3. The Meeting

**Sorry this chapter is so short. Ive been very busy and haven't had any time to write this week. Summer is around the corner so I hope i'll be able to release more chapters. Next chapter will be in Buff Frogs POV**

Another morning passed as the alarm in the monsters' room started to go off. All the monsters started to wake up. Buff Frog was soon up with them as well. He finished yawning, then climbed off the bed to stretch. He went straight to the bathroom to get ready. He wanted to look extra good for Ludo as he was telling his devious plan.

He walked back in the main room to see everyone talking together. He could easily make out Man Arm, as that's who they were all talking to. After the arm wrestling match, it seems to Buff Frog that Man Arm has finally proven his worth. He was proud of his little buddy.

He looked around and noticed he couldn't see Bearicorn. He started looking around for him. He went to the bunkbeds to see him, staring dead eyed at Man Arm. As Man Arm's popularity grew, it seemed like Bearicorn's popularity was DECLINING. He was once one of the most feared out of all the other monsters, but now it seemed like he was a shell of his former self due to his defeat at the small hand of Man Arm.

Buff Frog wanted to go talk to them, but knew he had a mission to do. He crept out the room and starting heading to Ludo's room. He soon arrived to the door and pressed the button.

"Buff Frog here." He awaited for an answer, when the voice came out of the speaker.

"Come in, hurry." Buff Frog obeyed, and went through the door. He soon arrive in Ludo's room, where he saw him standing in the middle of the room.

"Did you think of a plan?"

"Oh yes Master, and I think you'll enjoy it." Ludo got closer to him in interest

"Go on..."

"You know how you said the boy was the problem?"

"Yes, I recall. What does that have to do with anything?"

"Well... since he's the problem, why don't I just go kill the boy?" Ludo's eyes widened, and backed away from him.

"You'd be willing to commit cold blooded murder, for me?" He asked in disbelief. Buff Frog slightly bowed his head. "

I would do anything for you, Master Ludo." A crooked smile emerged from Ludo's mouth as the words came through his ears. The smile was short lived, as Ludo's face then turned upset.

"There's one flaw you left out. How will you kill him if him and Star are always together?" Buff Frog's face turned into om pure embarrassment. He lowered his head.

"I didn't think of that Master." Ludo got annoyed.

"I knew you couldn't think of a plan." He snarled. Buff Frog got desperate. He slid to his knees and put his hands together.

"Please Master, just give me a chance!" He begged.

"And why should I?"

"I just ask for one."

"You didn't answer my question. Why should I give you a chance?" Buff Frog's tone then turned serious.

"Because I won't let you down." Ludo then stared at him deeply.

"I don't know if I can trust your word."

"You can Master, I promise." Ludo sighed.

"Alright fine, ONE chance." Buff Frog got up from his knees.

"You won't regret it, Master."

"I want you to leave at once to complete you task. Don't let me down, Buff Frog"

"You can count on me." He then turned and left the room, without saying another word to his master.

He soon was out of the room and back in the barracks. He walked in to greetings and chit-chat. Little did they know he was planning something devious. He walked to the closet where all their weapons were stored. He looked around until he saw Deer Beard's hammer. He hoped that he wouldn't care that he was borrowing it for his mission. He is all ready to walk out of the room when a voice stops him.

"Buff frog, where are you going?" Buff Frog turns around to see Man Arm staring at him as he is about to leave.

"Uhhhhh..." He stalled nervously. "Ludo wanted me to go smash some huge bugs nesting outside the castle." He lied. Man Arm looked at him judgingly.

"That's weird... bugs usually don't show up until later in the season."

"I guess that' why Ludo wants me to check it out."

"Well alright then. Just be careful."

"Don't worry about me." He waved goodbye to Man Arm and left the room.


End file.
